Council offers Gympie Music Muster lifeline

Mayor Ron Dyne says council has given the Gympie Music Muster a short-term $300,000 interest-free loan to help it through a difficult trading period.

Council will also oversee a community trust that will run the Mary Valley Heritage Railway which has been closed since September last year due to safety concerns.

He says council will appoint the board which runs the trust and it will ensure Queensland Government funding to reopen the railway is used appropriately.

"Council will oversee the community trust and the community trust will be the operator of the line," he said.

"They'll be responsible for all operations and maintenance on that area, so council's overview of it is to ensure that the $2 million is spent wisely and that the Mary Valley Rattler continues to run.

"We do need to give some surety to the State Government that it's not $2 million just thrown into a black hole and then in a number of years' time that people will be looking for more money, but it's an attempt to ensure that the rail line becomes self-sustaining."